VOA标准英语2009年-Karzai, Gates Agree Afghans Need Long-

 

During a news conference in Kabul with U.S. Secretary of Defense¹ Robert Gates, Mr. Karzai repeated his hope that Afghan forces will be able to take the lead for security in five years.

Al Pessin | Kabul 08 December 2009

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (l) with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, 8 Dec. 2009

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says it could take 20 years for Afghanistan to be able to pay for its own security, although he has said he hopes his new army and police force will be able to take over security control in five years.  President Karzai spoke² at a joint³ news conference in Kabul with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates. 

President Karzai says ambitious plans for a large, modern Afghan army are simply more than the country can afford for a long time. 

"For a number of years, maybe for another 15 to 20 years, Afghanistan will not be able to sustain a force of that capability⁴ and nature with its own resources," Mr. Karzai said.

Speaking with President Karzai at a news conference, Secretary Gates indicated he was not surprised by that statement, but hopes it will not take that long. 

"I think that there is a realism on our part that it will be some time before Afghanistan is able to sustain its security forces entirely⁵ on its own," Gates said. "And whether that is 15 or 20 years, we will hope for accelerated economic development in Afghanistan."

The two men also discussed the timing⁶ of the planned transition of security responsibility from U.S. and coalition⁷ forces to the Afghans.

Announcing an increase of 30,000 American troops last week, U.S. President Barack Obama said they will begin to hand over security responsibility to Afghan forces by July of 2011, but he did not say how long the transition will take.  Secretary Gates indicated the pace of the transition could roughly match President Karzai's stated desire for his forces to be operating on their own in five years.

"We expect that this is a several year process.  Whether it is three years or two years or four years, I think, remains⁸ to be seen," Gates said.

The Obama administration is working hard to convince Afghans, Americans and coalition partners the international security role in Afghanistan will not end until the Afghan forces are ready, but also that the international military deployment⁹ is not open-ended. 

Secretary Gates said the United States will continue to have a long-term commitment to helping¹⁰ Afghanistan even after the security transition is completed. 

 

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。